Investment markets reacted sharply to Donald Trump’s Iran ‘excursion’ in March, but over the quarter there was not as much change as the headlines might have made you believe. (1) 2025 was generally a good year for investment markets with the UK putting in a notably good performance – the FTSE 100 was up more than a fifth over the year, beating both Europe and the US in local currency terms.2 2026 started off in a similar pattern, with expectations that interest rates would c

New research from the Office for National Statistics casts a different light on life expectancy. (1) Source: ONS (2) “How long am I going to live?’ is one of those questions that we tend to pay more attention to, the older we are. One quick way to find an answer is to use the Office for National Statistics (ONS) life expectancy calculator. That will tell you that if you are a baby boy aged 1, your life expectancy is 87 years, 4 years less than your twin sister. If you are 65,

A House of Lords committee has been highly critical of the government’s proposals on inheritance tax (IHT) and pensions.(1) Cynics might expect members of the House of Lords to have more than a passing interest in the Chancellor’s plans to bring unused pension funds within the scope of IHT. Whether or not that view is fair, a House of Lords Economic Affairs sub-committee has been examining the relevant legislation contained in the current Finance Bill. Their Lordships were no

As a means of drawing income in retirement, annuities have made a comeback, and for good reasons. Source: ABI (1) In 2014, the then Chancellor (and now podcaster), George Osborne, pulled a rabbit out of the Budget hat that nobody had seen coming. He announced the ending of the effective requirement for personal pension plans to be converted into an annuity in retirement.(2) Osborne’s ‘pension freedoms’ came as a shock to pension providers and a near-death experience to insura

6 April brings a variety of changes to the tax rules. The start of the tax year on Monday 6 April (Easter Monday) heralds a variety of changes to tax and pension rules, few of them welcome. Dividend tax The rate of tax on dividends will increase by two percentage points if you pay tax at basic rate (8.75% to 10.75%) or higher rate (33.75% to 35.75%). The additional rate tax on dividends remains unchanged at 39.35%, as does the dividend allowance at just £500. Making Tax Digit

Annual inflation ended 2025 at 3.4%, up from 2.5% in 2023, but not all prices rose over the year. Source: Office for National Statistics Inflation has been on something of a rollercoaster in recent years, buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, among other factors. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation reading for December 2025 was 3.4%, higher than the 2.5% of December 2024, but lower than the 4.0% of December 2023 and the 10.5% of December 2022. Th